Type 31 Armored Combat Suit
The Type 31 Armored Combat Suit was a revolutionary weapons project undertaken by the Japan Self-Defense Forces starting in 2031 consisting of a bipedal armored vehicle about 3.5 meters in height. The vehicle would become widely known among JSDF personnel as the "Excelion" after the similar vehicle from the popular Japanese manga Mechanized Battle Suit Excelion. The Type 31 operated by a single pilot using a "master-slave" system in which the arms of the suit mimicked the user's movement, while the legs and armaments were operated using more conventional systems. The Type 31 can be seen as predecessor to the American power armor of later decades, and indeed some of the Japanese engineers who originally worked on the Type 31 and escaped the Chinese invasion would later work on US power armor projects. The Type 31 but differed in that it was larger than (and thus lacked the mobility in small spaces of power armor) power armor, and, while the arms and "head" were slaved to sensors on the user's arms, the suit did was not operated solely by the user's movements like power armor. The Type 31 was also not capable of using standard infantry weapons like power armor, but rather was armed with weapons mounted in shoulder and wrist hardpoints. Design The Type 31 Armored Assault Suit is a bipedal vehicle mounted on hydraulic legs, with a height of 3.5 meters, armored with a classified composite material capable of withstanding a direct hit with a 30mm round. The pilot of the vehicle stood in a sensor-equipped harness located in "torso" of the vehicle, with the sensors on the pilot's arms and hands controlling the arms of the vehicle. The armaments and manipulators were operated using more conventional controls held in the hands, while movement was operated using foot controls. The pilot's helmet held a helmet mounted display which displayed the images from the camera suite on the "head" of the vehicle, which contained both conventional and night vision cameras. The "head" was turned by turning the pilot's head. As the Type 31's head could turn a full 360 degrees, the pilot would turn their head to the left or right to traverse, and look directly ahead to stop the traverse. It was also possible to "lock" the "head" of the Type 31 in a forward position. In addition to the camera suite, the head was also mounted with a 5.56mm M249 Squad Automatic Weapon for close defense. The Type 31's primary armaments were highly modular, mounted in two hardpoints for heavy machine guns, energy weapons, or guided missile launchers on the "shoulders" of the unit. The arms of the Type 31 ended in manipulators designed for moving debris and breaking through walls and other obstacles, and carried hardpoint on the wrist to which tools and weapons could be attached, including machine guns, an automatic shotgun for close combat, and cutting tools such as a chainsaw or plasma cutter. While primarily intended as tools for entering structures and clearing debris, the manipulators and attached tools were sometimes used as melee weapons, with grisly results. For increased firepower at the expense of versatility, the Type-31's manipulators could be replaced with an additional hardpoint for heavy machine guns and grenade launchers. Shoulder Hardpoint Weapons The two shoulder-mounted hardpoints can carry one of the following: *'Sumimoto-Browning M2 .50 caliber machine gun' (400-round belt) *'General Atomics M134 7.62mm minigun' (1000-round belt) *'Rockwell CZ-53 "Avenger" 5mm minigun' (3000-round belt) *'Howa Type 96 40mm automatic grenade launcher' (200-round belt) *'M45 Flamethrower' (115-liter back-mounted tank) *'Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Type 48 Rotary Laser Weapon' (standard fusion core) *'Howa Type 46 Plasma Induction Weapon' (plasma core) *'Type 25 or Type 43 anti-tank guided missile' (twin-tube launcher) *'Type 34 Surface-to-Air Missile' (twin-tube launcher) *'FGM-219 "Quadbarrel" Dual Purpose Missile Launcher' (four-tube launcher) Hand Attachment The hand of the Type-31 could be equipped with an additional hardpoint in place of the standard manipulator. When equipped with a hand-weapon, wrist weapons and tools could not be attached. *'Standard Manipulator' (mechanical hand for moving debris etc. Equipped with wrist hardpoint) *'Sumimoto-Browning M2 .50 Caliber Machine Gun' *'Rockwell CZ-53 5mm Minigun' *'Howa Type 96 Grenade Launcher' Wrist Hardpoint Attachments The wrists of the standard manipulator used on the Type-31 carried *'FN M249 5.56mm Squad Automatic Weapon' (100 or 200-round belt) *'Heckler & Koch Close Assault Weapons System' (50-round extended drum- 12 gauge flechette shells) *'Chainsaw' *'Plasma Cutter' (heavy plasma torch used for cutting steel) *'Concrete Saw' Back Attachments *'Extended Capacity Ammunition Storage Unit (capacity: 10,000 7.62mm; 2000 .50 BMG; 500 40mm grenade)' *'Extended Capacity Flamethrower Fuel or Plasma Tank' *'Heavy Fusion Core' (provides increased power to both the vehicle itself and any mounted laser weapons) *'Jump Jet' (fuel for three five-meter jumps) *'Experimental Active Camouflage Unit' (based on US Stealth Boy and Chinese Stealth Armor, introduced 2070, rare) *'M18 Claymore Mine' (direction anti-personnel mine, used as a one-shot close defense weapon against infantry) History The Type 31 was first designed in the 2031 as a specialized combat vehicle intended to be more effective in urban and mountainous terrain than a conventional main battle tank, capable of entering large structures walking through narrow streets, and climbing up slopes and piles of rubble. The Type 31 was not intended to replace main battle tanks and other armored vehicles, but rather to compliment them. The first prototype of the Type 31 was unveiled to the public in 2035, at that time powered by a microfission core, which, as of 2042, was replaced with a cutting-edge microfusion power plant. By 2045, the JSDF had over 700 Type 31s in service. The Type 31 first saw combat in the Third Sino-Japanese War, where it performed admirably in urban combat of Kyushu, proving capable of entering spaces Chinese tanks could not and easily flanking and destroying Chinese armored units. In the open, however, the Type-31 was often outgunned by the superior firepower of Chinese tanks. While the Type-31 proved effective in combat, neither it nor the rest of the JSDF could halt the seemingly endless hordes of Chinese forces, and Japan was forced to surrender at the Treaty of Kyoto. After the surrender, the Chinese employed many captured Type 31s in their own occupation forces and their puppet Japanese People's Army. Some units were also employed by the Free Japanese Army, the anti-Chinese resistance from 2050 until 2067, who used Type-31s in guerilla attacks, as the vehicles were capable of climbing up the mountains into the resistance's hidden base. During the Liberation of Japan, the roughly 300 or so Type 31s that survived both the Chinese invasion of Japan and the liberation were returned to the reinstated Japan Self-Defense Forces. After the bombs fell in 2077, about 150 units would fall into the hands of the various Japanese successor states, including the postwar remnants of the Japanese government, the Communist Party of Japan, and The Shogunate, with the Japanese state possessing the most units. The examples in the hands of the Shogunate are notable for their distinct appearance, often having been modified to resemble samurai armor, much in the same way the Shogunate often modifies ex-US suits of T-45 power armor. Users Pre-War *'Japan Self-Defense Forces' (2037-2050, 2066-2077) *'Japanese People's Army' (2052-2066) *'People's Liberation Army': (2050-2066, unit captured in Third Sino-Japanese War, mostly used in occupation of Japan) *'United States Army' (2066-2077, captured from PLA or JPA) Post-War *'postwar Japanese state' (2077 onwards) *'The Shogunate' (2236 onwards) *'Communist Party of Japan' (2184 onwards) *'Ryukyu Republic' (2090 onwards) Category:Vehicles Category:Technology